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Category Archives: Cycling

It’s been all quiet on the blogging front for the last few weeks and that’s because I’ve got a new job. Apart from the fact that working is eating into my sewing time, I’m loving it! The work is interesting and the people are very friendly and best of I can cycle there.

It is about 10 miles from Beckenham to Canary Wharf my route follows the Ravensbourne river and is mainly though parkland.

This is my latest addition to our fleet of bicycles. It’s second hand and cost me only £70 but I’m fairly sure it has almost never been ridden. When I picked it up it was in perfect condition, not a scratch on it, and with very clean tyres. Halfords are still selling the same model new for more than twice the price. It’s a heavy bike, the gears and brakes aren’t as crisp as they might be and it’s very noisy (I couldn’t use it for stealth operations) but it gets me around, carries all my bits and pieces and for £70 I won’t mind too much if it gets stolen.

The first part of my route takes me through various parks and in the morning tends to be fairly quiet with only other commuters and a few dog walkers to disturb the peace.

When I first cycled the route I was surprised by how wild some of the parks are. This is South East London after all.

As I hit Ladywell Fields I come across several trees that at this time of year look like they are covered in cotton wool. I have no idea what these trees are but I’d love to find out. There are a lot of parakeets here as well, I can hear them in the evening but I think they are slugabeds as they are often quiet in the morning.

At Catford there is this amazing bridge across the railway line. It is designed to take cyclists and pedestrians. Keener cyclists than me cycle over it, I tend to push my bike. In the evenings it is often covered in kids playing on the roller skates (they breed them tough in Catford)

Next to the river, a short way off the route, there is a statue of Peter the Great who studied ship building in Deptford. It’s a bit of a strange statue but emphasises how enormously tall he was, he has his dwarf companion next to him.

I cross the river under the Greenwich tunnel, this was built in 1902 to enable dockers to get to work. These days it’s like the Northern line for cyclists with queues developing by the lifts (which can just about squeeze in 12 bikes and their riders). The notices say no cycling but us cool kids ignore that, actually the really cool way to travel is to stand on one pedal letting the bike freewheel you down the hill, that way you can leap off it someone comes to complain.

Once across the river you can look back to Greenwich which is one of the best views in London.

From there it is a short journey to Canary Wharf where the bike gets left in the car park, a quick shower and I am at my desk. Yes, this really is the view from my desk – I feel so priviledged to be able to see it every day it’s a wonder I ever get any work done.